This private jet strayed into protected Washington DC airspace and prompted an intercept. The F-16 crew reported that the pilot did not respond to flares. There were three passengers aboard and apparently a single pilot (the Cessna 560 Citation V is single-pilot rated). The jet then descended at a reported 20,000fpm into a forest.
Decompression seem like the most obvious cause. There isn't enough data yet to know if the rapid descent was powered or the result of fuel exhaustion (and loss of autopilot). But wouldn't we see some sort of broad, spiraling phugoid path there?
Another mystery. At least it ended in an unpopulated area. I'm hoping they seriously review the idea of single-pilot certification for private aircraft at this scale.
Decompression seem like the most obvious cause. There isn't enough data yet to know if the rapid descent was powered or the result of fuel exhaustion (and loss of autopilot). But wouldn't we see some sort of broad, spiraling phugoid path there?
Another mystery. At least it ended in an unpopulated area. I'm hoping they seriously review the idea of single-pilot certification for private aircraft at this scale.
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